Ok so neither of us no the numbers of personnel involved by discipline.
What we do know is the following LNG projects have been completed in Aus in the past 10 years. IMO LNG projects would be the closest we have to the size and complexity to what nuclear construction will require-in some ways given the product running throughout and LNG plant I believe the volume of high difficulty construction in LNG may be higher.
Project, quick cost estimate and time of project “completion.”
APLNG $26B Aus 2016 Gladstone LNG $18B US 2016 QCLNG $20B US 2016 Gorgon $55B US 2017 Ichthys $45B US 2018 Wheatstone $34B US 2018
All of these projects WERE built in Australia and given the completion dates there was obviously substantial concurrent construction. Also I can assure you that there were very significant labour shortages in the heavy construction industry during the construction of these plants.
Each of these projects in terms of size and complexity would be equal to or greater than an individual nuclear size.
Gorgon in addition to its sheer scale was also constructed in a Class A nature reserve on an Island some 2000km from any labour pool or supply lines-far more complex than any nuclear site will be in Aus.
All of these projects had problems, some bigger than others, but they all got built, as would nuclear reactors.
I have many views on how to plan the program of 7 reactors to minimise the desigg, engineering and planning issues but not enough meet on any of them to discuss. In addition some of these plans would not be acceptable in Australia including where detailed engineering is done, not ham stringing the project with local procurement requirements, and the industrial regulation to govern the project (if there is any way possible to get power from an interstate site into the Victoria load centres with existing transmission I would not build a reactor in Victoria).
Pintohoo I thought nuclear was a non starter in Aus because of the regulatory requirements to be put in place and the storage of spent material. However the signing of Aukus in my view changes the equation as much of the regulatory and spent material storage issues will have to be dealt with with the Aukus project.
